Young local skater lands a film role

It's not often that an 8-year-old lands a role in a film about her greatest passion, but for Phoebe Stubblefield, everything about her upcoming role in Ice: The Movie simply fell into place.

Stubblefield has been skating since she was 3 years old and currently trains at the World Arena, where she spends nearly five hours a day on the ice. The practice shows. She proudly proclaims that she can land a double axel now, and, though it's inconsistent, it's an impressive jump for someone so young.

Her abilities on the ice are just part of what caught the eye of professional figure skater Maddison Bullock, who offered Stubblefield a fantastic opportunity.

Bullock set out to make Ice: The Movie a reality after finishing the script last May, and right now she's looking toward a release next winter. The story follows two competitive figure skaters who train together from childhood into young adulthood. "But they start to realize very quickly," Bullock says, "that it's an individual sport and it's very difficult to maintain a friendship and still be at the height of your skating abilities."

She wanted to find the perfect skaters to play the young versions of herself and her co-star Lisa Mihelich — skaters who could perform their own jumps, commit to filming and hold their own on camera.

Bullock, who now lives in Los Angeles, trained at the World Arena most of her young adult life and says: "I wanted to find really great skaters ... I knew that Colorado Springs is where great skaters are."

She fell in love with Stubblefield's skating instantly.

"She had so much energy on the ice," Bullock says, "so much passion. You could tell that she was in her own world and that's exactly how I was when I was a little skater."

Thankfully, Stubblefield turned out to be a great actor, too. Bullock says her instincts are astounding for someone so young, and Stubblefield says: "The acting was the fun part," as opposed to the skating, which sometimes started as early as 3 a.m.

Stubblefield is excited about the concept of the film, too. As someone whose goal is to go to the Olympics, starring in a film about competitive figure skating is a bit like looking into a mirror. "It's like when I grow up," she says of the film. "It's another version of me."